[Aditya]

Hi Vikram,

That's a very good report there. The Himalayan landscape is just not complete without a Gypsy. As old as it is, the car remains near the top of my wishlist. I am in love with its simplicity, off-road capability, reliability and scope for modifications. Its price is low compared to other 4x4 vehicles as well.

If you are planning to use the car more for touring and not so extreme off-roading, limit the modifications to what you have planned. If you plan to explore, you might want to add snow chains to the list of equipment.

With the Safari Storme being favoured by the armed forces and new safety norms expected to be implemented, Maruti is likely to drop the Gypsy from its model line-up soon. So it's good you procured one.

Wish you many miles of happy motoring.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Wow Vikram that was an illuminatingly well researched and executed post!

Youve given me some ideas too...notably that Torque wrench.

Must try and procure that on my next travel to one of the countries where 4x4 is a real movement and where these things are easily available!

Thank you Shankar.

I was at a fairly well known workshop in town in December and asked them if they have a torque wrench & they said no. How can we expect the quality repair work in these workshops if the mechanics do not even have the basic tools.

Irrespective of whether the workshop is branded or non branded I see most of the staff at these establishments employ "jugad" (a technique we Indians take a fair bit of pride in) instead of using the right tools/techniques. Though my exposure to these places in limited, I hope situation is changing for the better across the country.

By the way re-torquing your lug nuts once every few months is a good safety practice.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Hi Vikram,

That's a very good report there. The Himalayan landscape is just not complete without a Gypsy. As old as it is, the car remains near the top of my wishlist. I am in love with its simplicity, off-road capability, reliability and scope for modifications. Its price is low compared to other 4x4 vehicles as well.

If you are planning to use the car more for touring and not so extreme off-roading, limit the modifications to what you have planned. If you plan to explore, you might want to add snow chains to the list of equipment.

With the Safari Storme being favoured by the armed forces and new safety norms expected to be implemented, Maruti is likely to drop the Gypsy from its model line-up soon. So it's good you procured one.

Wish you many miles of happy motoring.

Thank you Aditya.

As you may have noticed in my post the only time this vehicle will go off road is when there is no paved road (which by the way happens quite frequently where I plan to venture) and with a low ratio transfer case I should be able to tackle most of what this terrain might throw at me.

Thank you for pointing out a very important omission of that of snow chains. A set will be added soon to that list.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Door mounted rear view mirrors:

I started researching on the internet and came across a company that supplies the Suzuki OEM style mirrors that came factory fitted on Suzuki Samurai that were sold here in North America till 1995. Well, Amazon proved to be my best friend

Vikram - replacement of the OE RH ORVM (and adding a LH ORVM) is on my priority list as well. Can you please confirm if this fits the bill? If so, I will have it shipped to a co-worker in US who is traveling to India shortly, as these do not seem to be available on Amazon India.

[shankar.balan]

Cool_Dube
That site says it fits a Suzuki Samurai of 1988 - I just tried.
Hence Im sure it will fit the Indian current spec Gypsy too.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Vikram - replacement of the OE RH ORVM (and adding a LH ORVM) is on my priority list as well. Can you please confirm if this fits the bill? If so, I will have it shipped to a co-worker in US who is traveling to India shortly, as these do not seem to be available on Amazon India.

Mr. Dube, these mirrors should fit alright & that's a very good price you're getting.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Mr. Dube, these mirrors should fit alright & that's a very good price you're getting.

Perfect! Ordered them yesterday - have already been shipped to an address in the US and (hopefully) I should have them with me by late next week!

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Mr. Dube, these mirrors should fit alright & that's a very good price you're getting.

Finally, the mirrors are on! What a world of difference from the OE one - excellent coverage as well as killer looks! Thanks for the pointer, Vikram.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Finally, the mirrors are on! What a world of difference from the OE one - excellent coverage as well as killer looks! Thanks for the pointer, Vikram.

Thanks for posting the picture Mr. Dube. It is really looking good on the car. How many kilometers have you put on the odometer so far?

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Thanks for posting the picture Mr. Dube. It is really looking good on the car. How many kilometers have you put on the odometer so far?

Thanks Vikram. I have only clocked 900 kms or so, thus far. My daily commute is about 7 km a day and weekend drives have been restricted to intra-city only for now. Planning to do a longish drive soon.

[shankar.balan]

Saw some fiddly bits at Ace Hardware Automotive section in Dubai for the Gypsy.
Not yet decided whether to buy or not to buy because many of these things are available on Amazon in India at a reasonable/ comparable price, except for the Jerry Can, torque wrench, picnic basket and tow rope...let me consider some of these...
Wonder is this the right torque wrench set to buy?

[shankar.balan]

Some other Jeep type stuff at Carrefour Dubai.
Nice stuff. Nice prices too.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Wonder is this the right torque wrench set to buy?

My choice would be
Britool or Norbar for the torque wrench itself. Taparia for the sockets and associated hardware.
All available here.

Regards
Sutripta

[shankar.balan]

Sutripta
Do please Point me as to where I can get these in India.
Else I ve got to spend 150 AED for the ratchet wrench and spanner set.

[shankar.balan]

Ive bunged in this stuff along with a full tank of petrol.
Hoping the Fuel Injection system will get nicely cleaned now with regular running.
The engine does sound nice no doubt.
But I do need to change the engine mountings to remove the vibration that exists when I start the Gypsy.
That should set me up and get me running in normal Gypsy fashion for a while!

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Upgradations/modifications & other accoutrements

3. Manual Locking hubs;

Very subtle and thoughtful additions. However I would like to add something to the discussion.

Those tapered conical washers and hubs are available in MGPs too.

Part Number: 43801-80011[SGP]
Name: HUB ASSY, LOCKING
Price: Rs. 5972.5

The guy was asking for US$ 50 for these to be shipped to Canada. I found this to be a daylight robbery but I realized I had to travel to the US border for some work and I can pick these up for US $32 (including postage).

Part Number: 43841M80000[MGP]
Name: CONE WASHER, LOCKING HUB
Price: Rs.2

Regards,
Shashi